A couple years ago I made a pillow cover out of a pretty purple plaid men's button-up shirt. Unfortunately, I'd made it just a little too small, so the buttons of the shirt that became the closure at the back of the pillow never stayed buttoned. It frustrated me to no end. Finally, I decided to just make a new one using a large English paper pieced hexagon I made a while back. The hexagon, which was the test piece for a design idea, didn't come out right either and wouldn't lay completely flat. A pillow was the perfect way to use it since a pillow is curved and would fill out the wrinkles. After appliqueing the hexagon to a 20" square of kona cotton matched to the flowers within the circle shapes, I quilted straight lines parallel to the sides of the hexagon. As I was quilting, I had the idea to leave a gap after four lines of stitching on each side to add a bit of interest. I'm glad I did. The gap breaks up the stitching, giving the eye something to be drawn to. In the pictures I paired my new pillow with the quilt I won as part of the Wisecraft Handmade book release prize I won with my bunting banner a couple years ago. They look so good together!

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out. You can still see the wrinkles caused by the un-flat-ness of the hexagon, but it's much better than it would have been if I'd put it on a quilt or something. I turned a learning experience from my design into a pillow. Now I just have to perfect the design and turn it into a pattern.

The weaving kit, the third in my series of Maker Kits for Modern Kids, comes with everything you need (except scissors and a bit of tape) to make at least three beautiful woven projects. The instruction booklet includes photographs illustrating the processes for basic weaving as well as tapestry weaving. Plus, you'll get a package of wood beads that I dyed by hand in coordinating colors. The version listed in my shop is the mini version (with a loom measuring 3.5" x 6"), with the large version (with a loom measuring 6" x 10") to be listed soon.​

Every kit comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box. And, because details are so important to me, I added a special wrap closure with yarn and wood buttons to keep the lid secure so the pieces never fall out.​

​With each successive Maker Kit for Modern Kids, I have increased the earth-friendliness of the materials. Everything in this kit, from the box to the materials inside, is reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable. Even the "plastic" bag with beads is made from plants. I want to continue this theme with my next kits as well. (I have a really fun kit in the pipeline that I can't wait to share.)

​If you'd like to purchase a weaving kit for yourself or as a gift, please visit my Etsy shop and I'll mail it out right away. Thanks for your support!

Despite the many, many projects I've got under way right now, I got it in my head that it was time to start a quilt for my toddler son. So, without really thinking, I told him right then that I was going to make him a quilt. Well, in the world of toddlers, making a quilt is as easy as saying "turn on the sewing machine." In other words, he pretty much expected it to be done that day. Of course, it didn't happen that way. But, I did get a pretty good start on it, which is to say that I decided on the overall design and picked out a few fabrics.

Ever since I read through the book Quilt Improv by Lucie Summers, I've wanted to make a porthole quilt. In essence, the technique uses two layers of fabric that are sewn together with a circle in the size you want. The inside is then cut out, leaving a quarter inch seam allowance that is clipped to allow the fabric to stretch, then the lining layer is pushed through the hole to the back. Once ironed, you should have a perfect circle that you can look through. This porthole acts as a window for whatever fun fabric you want to applique behind it. You can continue this process indefinitely to create layered portholes. You can see the end result above.

​​The idea forming in my head is that I will have a whole cloth quilt top (a top made from a single piece of fabric) that will have portholes in it and these blocks will be stitched behind. At the end, my blocks will have thicknesses ranging from three layers (for those with only a single porthole through the quilt top) to potentially seven layers depending on how much I trim from the layers beneath. All this is to say that I may have to make the quilting fairly simple to avoid breaking needles from all the layers, even to the point of avoiding quilting over any of the porthole seams.

One of the nice things about my design is that I can make individual porthole blocks without having to finish any other part of the quilt. I don't even have to make the top until all the blocks are done. Plus, the final layout of the blocks is extremely flexible and does not require precise seam matching. I've been working on it for about a week now and I've got a small pile of blocks on my ironing board. My problem now is finding interesting prints to applique behind the portholes. I'm going for a sort of "I spy" theme where each porthole is looking onto an animal or object. I've pretty much worn through my collection of such prints. I'm sure I'll find the perfect ones to add, and hopefully it won't take long, because I'm still riding the momentum of interest in the project. I have a promise to keep, after all.

Well, I finished my first official big-time craft fair this last Saturday. I was excited and nervous to find out I was accepted into Patchwork show, and both those feelings continued until the day of the event. During those weeks, I finished hundreds of stitched envelope and note card sets, thirty-something zipper pouches, 48 weaving kits (my newest kit addition), scrap fabric earrings and necklaces, bunny ear teething rings, and other projects. I lost track of the number of hours I spent making things. Add to that the work of buying, preparing, setting up, taking down, and putting away everything for the show and you end up with a lot of hours.

Despite all my efforts, I didn't really sell much. I sold several of my Maker Kits for Kids, particularly the Stitch Kit and Stamp Kit. I also sold a few stitched envelopes and a zipper charm. All told, it was about $600 in sales. After subtracting the cost of goods sold and the cost of renting space and buying displays, I don't think it was worth it. I got lots of compliments on how pretty everything is, how unique the kits are, and how talented I am, which was nice. But I'm starting to doubt myself and my ability to earn any real money selling at events like this. The only thing that might make it pay off is connections that lead to future sales in my Etsy shop or teaching gigs. While I wait for my last two events of the season, I'll try to work on a few leads and see what I can make happen.

I'm getting so excited about the upcoming Patchwork Show I'll be selling at in Oakland on November 5! In addition to my usual items, I'll be selling a few new things. I found an awesome photo tutorial on how to make beads from scrap fabric and decided to dive into my growing collection of tiny scraps to make some simple earrings. No two earrings are exactly alike, which gives each pair a special charm that you just can't get from regular store-bought jewelry. If you'd like to buy a pair, and support local makers, please come to Patchwork Show. There will be so many neat handmade items for sale, I'm sure you'll find the perfect thing for you or your best friend or that special someone. I hope to see you there!

A little over a month ago I applied to be a craft vendor at Patchwork Show at Jack London Square in Oakland, California, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from where I live. Then, last week, I got an email saying that I was accepted to the event! As excited as I am, I'm also a bit nervous. I have so much to do before then to get ready and make sure I have enough items and enough variety in my stock. Luckily, I have been making many things over the course of the year in hopes of doing a craft fair or two for the holidays, so I have a bit of a head start. Still, lots to do. Since it's my first major (major) craft fair, I decided to invite one of my sisters out to help me. She'll be flying in a couple days before the show, and I just know she'll help make it a successful event. If you're in the area, come check it out. I'll have handstitched softies, a hand-embroidered sheep, zipper pouches, sewing kits for kids, and lots more. I'll post more about my progress soon, and let you all know my booth number when I find out.

​As needle books go, my new one is something of a tome. It's large enough to hold all my hand and machine needles, including my longest doll needle at 5 1/2 inches. It's ten (single-sided) pages include labelled storage for loose needles, small plastic needle cases, and a strap to hold packaged needles that I haven't opened yet.

I designed this needle book myself because I wanted one place to store all my needles. As usual, I took it one step further and made a beautiful paisley motif felt applique for the cover to make myself that much happier every time I open it. And, of course, it took me much longer than it should have to finish it. I mentioned it way back in this post, but it was already long in process at that point. Oh, well. I never do anything unless it's worth taking a long time to do (that makes me sound a bit like Treebeard, though. Hmmmm.).

Anyway, my needle book measure about six inches tall and four inches wide. It holds all my needles, which are organized by type and size so I will be sure to find the needle I want when I need it. Labels next to each type help me keep track of which needles are which. Basically, it keeps me organized and gives me a place to put otherwise homeless needles.

Cut a piece of felt 6" x 8"Cut a second piece 6" x 8.5"Cut a third piece 6" x 9"

Stack the felt so that the largest piece is on the bottom, the second one is centered on top of it, and the smallest one is centered on the first two. Use clips to keep the pages in place. Find and mark the center of the pages (chalk is pretty useless on felt, but pins work well if you don't have disappearing ink). Using a stitch length between 3 and 4, sew the pages together along the center line. ​

​The pages should fold nicely along the stitch line. Close the book and trim the pages so that they are even along the edges.

Cut felt rectangles for the pockets. Make them large enough for the sewing machine needles you want to keep in them. I cut mine 1 5/8" x 2 3/8" to hold the larger plastic case of needles. Two pockets will fit on each page.

Place two felt rectangles on a page of your needle book. Pin them in place. On the other side of the same page, place two more rectangles in alignment with the first two. Each pair of opposite pockets will be sewn with the same lines of stitching.

Working one pair of pockets at a time, sew through the pockets and page. Since this is felt and it shouldn't receive too much stress, you don't need much of a seam allowance. Starting at one top corner, sew down to a bottom corner, along the bottom, and up the other side. Remove the pins as you go. Backstitch at the beginning and end to secure the stitches.

Note: I attached all my pockets toward the back of my book since I don't switch machine needle as often as I want a different hand sewing needle. ​

Cut narrow strips of felt to hold loose hand-sewing needles. I cut mine 1 3/4" x 1/4". Each strip will hold up to 10 needles depending on the size. Longer needles (such as doll needles) may span more than one strip downwards.

Place three or four narrow strips on a page of your needle book. Stagger them as shown to maximize storage and make needle retrieval easier. Pin them in place. Working one strip at a time, remove a pin, holding the strip in place with your fingers. Place the page under you presser foot and sew through both the strip and the page, backstitching at the beginning and end.

On the last page of my book, I added a strip of twill tape to hold "homeless" needles and carded needles that don't fit anywhere else. To make one for your book, cut a length of twill tape or similar woven ribbon and stitch it to a page along the top and bottom. Fold under the ends of the ribbon before sewing for a cleaner look.

For the cover, start with a large piece of felt (or make a patchwork one). Close the pages of your needle book and wrap the piece of felt around them to measure for the cover. Decide how much of an overhang you want on all sides. An eighth of an inch looked about right to me. Mark the cutting places with pins on either side. Use an acrylic ruler to cut the cover piece to size, removing the pins once the ruler is in place.

Embellish your cover before attaching it. Applique, beading, embroidery, or stamping are just a few ideas for how to give your needle book that something extra. Once the cover is all decorated, you can attach it to the pages. ​

Since the felt pages and cover were too bulky to get under my presser foot, I attached the cover to the front and back pages only. You can see the stitching on the front right side. There is almost identical stitching for the back of the cover and last page. Of course, this means that the sides of the pages facing the cover are not usable for storage. It also means that my applique stitches were hidden. If you need the extra storage, you could attach the cover by hand by sewing along the stitching keeping the pages together along the spine.

Your needle book is now ready for needles! Play around a bit with placement, making sure the needles you want most handy are at the front. As you put the needles in their slots, make a note of which ones you put where. If you'd like, make some labels so you never forget what needles are on each page. ​

​And my needle book is finally done! Okay, I may have a couple labels left to sew on, but, other than that, it's finished!

I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after visiting family for a few weeks, moving out of one apartment and into another, and putting my little studio together (more on that soon). I promise to get my newsletter out on Thursday for those who've signed up. I have so many neat things to share, I'm excited to send it out again!

But on to today's post! I recently finished up a swap with one of my sisters. It was great fun. The bag I made is from Kay Whitt's book Sew Serendipity Bags. This is a great book and I'm glad to have a copy of it in my library. The book contains 12 patterns for bags in a wide variety of styles ranging from simple to complex, basic to fancy. The book begins with some pictures of bags patterns included. Although this was useful, it did not show ALL the bags in the book or provide page references, so some page-flipping is necessary to see an example of bags not shown. One thing I love about this book is that, once you open the book to a pattern, it will stay open because of the wire binding. If you've ever put a heavy object in the middle of a book to hold it open, you know how awesome this little detail is.

Every bag pattern includes at least one photo of the finished bag before the instruction section, so you have an idea of how it should look. There is also a written overview of the features of the bag, which is helpful for visualizing the parts of the bag not visible in the photo. Although dimensions are given for all the bag patterns, the photographs don't always show the scale relative to a person or other object (as in the photo below of the pattern I ended up using).​

The materials list includes all necessary notions and fabric yardages. This made it easy to gather everything I needed before starting. One problem, though, is that I ended up using more of one print than was listed. I would recommend adding a bit of length to whatever fabric you purchase or use. Cutting diagrams would also have been useful to ensure that the fabric was being used efficiently and in the amounts listed.

The author divides the instructions into easy-to-follow steps. Most of the steps are accompanied by a sketched illustration of the relevant pieces and how they come together. For complex, three-dimensional projects, these sketches are ideal. There are no hands holding the pieces to get in the way of what you want to see, and everything is simplified to the essential parts. The sketches for the handle-making steps were less clear than I would have liked as a novice bag-maker, but I managed, in the end, after reading the instructions several times. Once I figured it out, I made a note in the margin (something I recommend doing for all patterns you plan to make again). The instructions on making the decorative pocket ruffles were obviously written for someone with a ruffle foot attachment. I had to make a guess as to how densely to gather by hand. I opted for gathering as much as pleased me, but I ended up having to make a second batch of ruffles in order to have enough.

I made a couple simple changes to the pattern. First, I opted for a continuous cut for the main bag body fabric and interfacing piece, which meant deducting a little for the seam allowance. I like that it reduced bulk at the bound edges, but I would not recommend doing this if you are using a very directional print, which I was not doing. Second, I finished all the binding by hand rather than having a line of visible stitching through all the layers. I'm not so good at keeping straight lines through bulky pieces, so hand-finishing gave it a much nicer look. It was a time-consuming change, so don't do it if bulky sewing is one of your skills.

Overall, I recommend this book. It is clear enough for beginner bag-makers as long as they have some sewing experience, and there are projects for every skill level except beginning sewist. The instructions and sketches are generally clear and easy to follow. And the dozen bag patterns are a great range for any pattern library.

Carley Biblin

Hi. My name is Carley. I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing. But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. I hope you'll join me in Making It Up As I Sew Along. Learn More...